On October 6, 1849, the acclaimed writer Edgar Allen Po deceased. "What was the cause of this horrific death"" This question has been asked, and attempted to be answered, by many people. However, due to lack of stable evidence, the answer could very well be several different theories.

Kenneth Silverman, the author of Poe's Final Days, had a joint hypothesis that the main antecedents of his passing were most likely drunkenness and exposure to harsh weather or a combination of both. There is evidence that Joseph Walker came upon Poe who was in "a drunken stupor" and "may have also been ill from exposure...to the harsh winds and the soaking rains" (Silverman, 502). After Poe's death, a senior physician at his hospital "diagnosed (his) condition as encephalitis, a brain inflammation brought on by exposure" (Silverman, 505). Other people disclaim this theory, despite its solidity and evidence.

"Edgar Allen Poe did not...